Featuring film maker, Jess Wiegandt

Jess Wiegandt grew up paddling, as both of her parents are paddlesports instructors. Her childhood was spent outside, learning about river ecology and wildlife. Jess attended Brevard College and received a BA in Wilderness Leadership and Experiential Education (WLEE) and a BA in English with a concentration in Journalism.

Driven to tell stories of impact, she is now an award-winning filmmaker pursuing her MFA in Environmental and Social Impact Filmmaking at American University. 

Her projects often focus on the health of rivers, and she recently completed a project aired on PBS on the Patuxent River. She is excited to continue working on stories that engage a wider audience with their watershed and local ecosystem. More about Jess and her work can be found at jesswiegandt.com.

Jess will be joining NPFF 2023 to share her experience as a whitewater kayaker & filmmaker, as well as premiering her new film, A River Called Home:

“A River Called Home” is a short documentary following the journey of four women who paddle the James River in Virginia from its headwaters to the Chesapeake Bay. Known as America’s Founding River, the James River holds a lot of our nation’s history along its riverbanks, including being home to Jamestown and Richmond. It is also the largest watershed in Virginia, with 3 million people relying on it for drinking water, commerce, and recreation.

However, it is a river that faces challenges, with elevated levels of PCBs in the upper watershed, the threat of a gold mine in the middle James, and a sewage system in the lower region that results in raw overflow when rain overwhelms treatment plants. 

In a 21-day expedition, these women study water quality, working with local students, to better connect with their watershed and learn how every person can become an advocate for their local rivers. Learn more about the journey, how to support the film, and expected distribution at jesswiegandt.com/arch.